Blog

My name is Gladys Esquijarosa. Growing up, others have taken it upon themselves to define me. Now it’s time that I define myself. I love to write, listen to music, go to museums, and go out and see nature. In my life, most people, including my family, have seen my challenge and not me. It is a part of my life. I wish I wasn’t there, but it is not my whole life. I’ve been striving to work on not seeing myself as a victim, but sometimes I’m not successful.
I have mild cerebral palsy. If I were to describe my situation I would say that I am a person who happens to have a physical...

My name is Muhammed Javed. At age two, I developed a childhood cancer of the eye called retinoblastoma.
My parents were able to bring me to the United States from Pakistan for treatment. One eye was removed, followed by radiation and chemotherapy. This caused a cataract to form in my remaining eye, which made me severely visually impaired for the next fifteen years. I couldn’t have the cataract removed earlier because of the high possibility of complications that could lead to losing my only eye.
The surgery was done just four years ago and was a miraculous success. I can never fully...

My name is Miranda Alicea. A few years ago I graduated from the IS 27 and then I moved on to the College of Staten Island. And I’ve been there for four years, going on five, and hopefully that’ll be my graduating year. But after I leave I would like to work in community theater, because I love not only the art of theater but also I like the interesting history behind it, and the fact that you can actually make theatre out of anything and turn it into a really sophisticated story.
My disability is Asperger’s Syndrome. And, I’ll admit that over the years I’ve been struggling...

My name is Liliete Lopez. The first time I ever set foot in a classroom I was 15. I just graduated from Queens College with a double major in Political Science and Urban Studies. I’m about to begin a master’s program in Urban Affairs at Queens College. I’m from Nicaragua, where people with disabilities have no rights. I came to the United States when I was 14. I had never attended school before that.
So when I came to the United States, I not only had to learn English; I also had to learn to read and write. I went right into high school and it was awful. I felt like a captured animal....

My name is Lolita Kravchenko. As a child I lost 60 percent of my hearing after suffering a series of painful ear infections. I also stuttered. I became very insecure about myself, super sensitive about what people thought of my speech and of the machines on my ears. I was angry at the world for letting this tragedy happen to me at such a young age.
I am Russian, born in Almaty, Kazakhstan. In kindergarten and first grade I lived at a special school for children with disabilities. But in 2001, my life took a sudden turn; my family won the United States Green Card lottery. My mother’s...

My name is Darlene Bertil and I’m from Haiti. I’ve been in the U.S. for three years. I was the assistant bartender at the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince and had just started my shift when the earthquake happened on January 12th, 2010. The whole building collapsed and I was trapped with the bartender for a couple of days. He passed away two hours before they found us. I was taken to a U.S. Navy ship, where they amputated both of my hands. I then came here to New York City where I got my prosthetics and therapy in order for me to be functional.
Therapy helped me learn how to do everyday...